The indoor mice and the outdoor mice knew their places. But the Larder Clan set up a toll; no kitchen access for the Duct Clan.

The timid Duct Clan knew the grandmother was coming for her yearly visit. She knew how to pare an apple into one long curl. But she was timid too, and shook. Food would cascade past her hem, landing into a whole new realm, ready to be scavenged. They made a deal with the Offal Rat Gang’s leader if he would deliver to them an apple skin. They would allow his gang to glean the old woman’s accidental offerings for the rest of her visit.

Moat the rat positioned himself under the cupboard’s overhang and waited. When the long red curl, juicy and sweet, landed under the large woman’s shadow, Moat scavenged it and ran across the kitchen with it waving like a banner.

Later, they collected warm wax and liquid sugar and attached the skin to Gnaw, their master borer. If his jaws couldn’t kill the toll guards, they would starve after the grandmother and her arthritis left for the winter.